Rescue Me
by snoozie2105
Summary: This was his last chance at love and happiness, and he'd be damned if he was going to let the woman he loved walk down that aisle not knowing how he felt."


Author's note: Yet another JJ/Rossi fluff piece! Hum Aretha Franklin's "Rescue Me" in your head as you read AND review (please please please). Special thanks to Tracia for being a wonderfully supportive sounding board!

"Damn!" JJ cried, momentarily forgetting that she was in a church, as Emily stuck yet another bobby pin into her head. "That hurt!"

"This would be much easier and much less painful if you would sit still!" Emily retorted.

"I'm sorry, Em," she sighed, twisting her fingers in her lap. "I'm just nervous. You do realize that in thirty minutes, I'll be walking down that long aisle and getting married in front of about a hundred people."

"Yes, I do. And it's up to me to make sure this veil is perfect!"

Before Emily could draw blood, Pen rushed into the bride's room. "Guests are arriving, my beautiful though hardly blushing bride! Are you ready?"

"We're getting there," JJ replied, attempting a smile. "Is the team here?"

"Everyone except for Rossi," Pen reported.

At the mention of David Rossi, JJ's heart sank. Where the hell _was_ he? Was he even coming? Had he chosen to stay home with his dog and a bottle of Scotch on the single most important day of her life? If he had, she would have no choice but to kick his ass when she got back from her honeymoon. Since his return to the BAU he had become her most trusted friend and confidant, and it was very important to her that he be there. _He's probably just delayed_, she thought. _He still has time to not let me down. _

Emily and Pen made short work of the veil, then left to check on JJ's niece at the guest register. As much as she loved her friends, JJ was glad to have a few minutes to herself before her family swooped in for last-minute hugs and kisses.

Looking at her reflection in the huge mirrors her mother had insisted on bringing in, she scrutinized herself from every angle. Considering that she hadn't been sleeping or eating she thought she looked good. When two exceedingly patient salespeople in the bridal shop where she, her mother, Emily and Pen spent almost an entire afternoon had finally gotten her into the strapless satin A-line gown with silver beading on the bodice and train, she knew it was The Dress. The tears that streamed down her mother's face and the temporarily inability of Emily and Pen to speak told her that they agreed.

Once she was satisfied that her makeup was perfect, had determined that not a hair was out of place of its elegant updo, and saw that Emily had her veil on right, she started pacing. In the months leading up to the wedding, she had been totally calm, sure that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Will LaMontagne, but in the past few weeks, she'd been nervous. Panic attack nervous. She dismissed it as the pre-wedding jitters that all brides experienced; now she wasn't so sure.

And again she wished Rossi was there. He had the uncanny ability to calm her down and sooth her nerves when no one else could. He was also the reason she hadn't been sleeping. When she dreamed, she dreamed of him – dreamed that he, not Will, was her groom, dreamed that he, not Will, made passionate love to her. But she couldn't let herself think about that. She was marrying Will. Today. In fifteen minutes.

~*~

Rossi had fifteen minutes to make it to the church where Jennifer Jareau was due to become another man's wife in approximately fifteen minutes. The thought that weddings never started on time failed to comfort him. If he knew Jennifer, and he did, the wedding would start at five on the nose. She was nothing if not punctual.

He had to see her, had to _talk_ to her, before the Wedding March began. If he arrived too late, his life as he knew it would be over. This was his last chance at love and happiness, and he'd be damned if he was going to let the woman he loved walk down that aisle not knowing how he felt.

From their introduction, he could tell that she was someone special, and the time they'd spent together in and out of the office only confirmed that. Never before had he felt so completely at ease with another person. Jennifer let him be him – didn't try to change him, didn't try to make him someone he wasn't – though she frequently challenged him and told him he was being unreasonable or rash or just plain stupid.

And he _was_ just plain stupid. He'd had so many opportunities to declare his love for her. When she asked his opinion on this invitation or that invitation. When she stuck perfume samples under his nose and asked which scent he thought she should wear. When, on their last case together, they'd gone out for a drink, which turned into three drinks for her, and she looked him in the eye and asked him point blank if he could think of a reason why she shouldn't marry Will, and he had remained silent. For what seemed like the millionth time, he cursed himself for being a coward. It was now or never, and he knew it.

As he approached the church, he could see that the doors were still open and guests were still arriving. The clock on the dash now read 4:53. He had negotiated hostage situations, interviewed serial killers, led take-downs and high-speed chases, but nothing – _nothing_ – had prepared him for this.

~*~

JJ was still pacing when she heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was her family or Pen and Emily, she called, "I'm ready! Come in!" without turning around.

She heard the door open and close, then a hesitant "Jennifer?"

Her breath caught in her throat when she turned around saw Rossi standing there, just staring at her. "Sweet Jesus," he finally breathed. "You are so beautiful."

"Thank you," she replied, smiling shyly and blushing. "I was afraid you weren't going show up."

_Do it, Rossi_, he said to himself. "I need to talk to you." He took her hand and led her over to the sofa. "Whether I stay or go depends on what you say."

"I-I don't understand," she stammered as they sat down. "You _have_ to stay. You _have_ to be here."

"Just listen to me. Please. Do you remember when you asked me if I could give you a reason why you shouldn't marry Will?" His voice was low and serious, and the intensity with which he looked at her sent shivers up her spine.

"Yes," she whispered, nodding. "I remember."

"And you remember that I just sat there like a bump on a log?"

"Yes."

"What if I told you now that I could give you a reason now?"

_Oh God, oh God._ This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for but hadn't realized it. Never mind that it came when she was to marry Will in less than five minutes. He could wait. She had to hear Rossi out.

"Jennifer, I love – "

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. He groaned and she hit the sofa with her small fists. Damn her family's timing! "Jennifer?" her mother called. "May we come in?"

Rossi shook his head, causing Jennifer to yell back, "No – not yet! Give us – _me_ – one minute!" To Rossi, she said tightly, "Talk, dammit, or _I swear to God_ I will break that vase of flowers over your head."

_Point made. _"Jennifer," he said urgently, "I love you. I've been a fool. An idiot. A moron. A – "

"Yes, you have been all those things and more!" she practically hissed. "Get on with it."

"Don't do it. Don't marry Will," he begged as he squeezed her hand. "Marry me. We can run out of here together and never look back."

She could see the pain and emotion in his chocolate brown eyes, could hear it in his velvet voice. "David, I ..."

"I know I don't have the best track record with wives," he said, "but you, Jennifer ... you're _it_ for me, the last woman I will _ever_ love. I will never be happy with anyone else, and if you're honest with me, with yourself, you _know_ you won't be happy with Will."

She simply stared at him until another knock on the door forced her to respond. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, David, I'll leave with you – I'll marry you."

He swiftly took her in his arms and kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. And that was how her parents found her – wrapped up in David Rossi and returning his kiss as if her life depended on it.

~*~

"Jennifer!" Mary Beth Jareau gasped, a stricken look on her face.

"Hi, Mama, Daddy," JJ said sheepishly as she and Rossi parted. "This is David Rossi."

Comprehension dawned on her parents' faces. "David Rossi," her father, Tom, whispered.

"_You're_ the one she _always_ talks about when she calls home," Mary Beth said slowly. "I would say it's nice to finally meet you, but under the circumstances –"

"I understand," he assured the Jareaus as he stood up to shake their hands. JJ had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, though the situation was anything but laughable – Rossi nervous, and remembering his manners at a time like this?! "I know how this must look, but-but –"

JJ knew she had to step in and save him, just as he'd saved her. "Mama, Daddy, I can't be the wife Will deserves, not when I'm love with someone else, and not when someone else is in love with me," she explained, looking up at Rossi and drawing strength from the pure adoration and happiness she saw in his eyes.

When her parents didn't say anything, Jennifer appealed to her father. "Daddy," she said, taking his hands, "from the time I was a little girl you told me that one day I'd find my knight in shining armor. I thought Will was that knight, but now I know it's David. I love him, Daddy, and I _can't_ live without him. I _won't_ live without him." By now tears were streaming down her face.

Rossi felt himself choking up too as he listened to Jennifer. "Mr. and Mrs. Jareau, I wouldn't have come here, wouldn't have ruined your daughter's wedding day, if I honestly believed that she didn't return my feelings. I would've sat there, along with the rest of our team, and watched as she broke my heart."

"If you love her so much, why didn't you tell her before?" Mary Beth questioned him.

"I was afraid," he replied honestly. "I'm almost fifty years old. I've been married three times. I couldn't let myself believe that she would ever want me. But she does." He smiled down at Jennifer. "You have my word that I will spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets this decision. I would _die_ before I made her unhappy."

By now, Jennifer's mother was crying too, opening her arms to her baby girl, and her father was slapping Rossi on the back. "Go," Tom said. "We'll take care of this."

"Oh, thank you, Mama, Daddy," JJ practically sobbed as she removed Will's engagement ring from her finger and pressed it into her mother's hand. "I love you both, so much."

"We love you, too, honey," Mary Beth said through her tears.

And with that, David Rossi picked Jennifer Jareau up, threw her over his shoulder, and headed for the door, with Jennifer yelling, "Tell Pen and Emily I'll call them later!"

~*~

That night found them tangled up in each other in his king-sized bed in his huge house at Little Creek, an almost-empty glass of Scotch on the nightstand.

"Penny for your thoughts," Rossi said quietly as he placed a soft kiss on her bare shoulder.

JJ sighed happily and giggled. "I should say I was thinking about how relieved I was when you showed up at the church, but I was actually thinking about how quickly you got me out of that damned dress."

He chuckled. "I had one thing and one thing only on my mind, babe – showing you how much I love and want you."

"Mission accomplished, Agent Rossi. That determination of yours certainly came through when you were working on those buttons. I think for _our_ wedding, we should go small and low-key."

"Whatever you want," he grinned. "I'll do anything."

"Anything, huh?" she whispered naughtily as she rolled over and climbed on top of him.

He settled his hands on her hips as he replied, "Yes. Anything."

"Show me again how much you love and want me."

Rossi growled as pulled her down for a kiss. Just as he brought her to the height of pleasure, she gazed down at him and whispered, "Rescue me."


End file.
